WarUlt
Warriors Ultimate, known in Japan as Unrivalled: Ultimate Battle (Japanese: 無双: 究極戦い Musō: Kyūkyoku-sen), is a crossover hack and slash video game developed by Koei Tecmo and Existence Software for the Nintendo Switch. Warriors Ultimate is a spin-off of Koei's Warriors franchise (consisting primarily of the Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, and Warriors Orochi series), and, similarly to the 2017 game Warriors All-Stars, the game features a cast of characters from a large variety of franchises. Unlike Warriors All-Stars, Warriors Ultimate is a collaboration between Koei Tecmo, Nintendo, Capcom, Sega, and Bandai Namco Entertainment, and includes a large variety of intellectual properties owned by those companies. The game has also been described as a "spiritual spin-off" of the Project X Zone series developed by Monolith Soft, as Nintendo, Capcom, Sega, and Bandai Namco all previously came together for the titles in that series. Warriors Ultimate was originally conceived as a sequel to the aforementioned Warriors All-Stars title, which saw a number of characters from various Koei Tecmo IPs come together as they are summoned to a strange new world, and break into factions led by one of the three royal siblings that rule over this land. Parts of this game's basic story concept are reimagined for Warriors Ultimate. Gameplay mechanics, however, are primarily inspired by the Warriors Orochi series instead. Additionally, the game's plot is loosely connected to the Warriors Orochi series', though characters that appear in those games have no memory of the events that occurred in those titles (much like in Warriors Orochi 4). Gameplay Unlike 2018's Dynasty Warriors 9, which took the Warriors series in a more open world-focused direction with an overhaul to the series' oft-criticized combat system, Warriors Ultimate returns to the Warriors franchise's more well-known linear-based scenarios. Combat is performed with a combination of button presses, utilizing "basic" and "charge" attacks each linked to a separate button - the button for basic attacks and the button for strong attacks. Attack combos can range from a simple C1 combo ( ) to a more complex C9 combo ( ). All Dynasty Warriors characters and some other characters have extendable combos (referred to as "Charge Movesets"), which can be performed by pressing the button again after the button at the end of a combo; those who can not extend their combos, such as the characters from the Samurai Warriors series, can instead perform Hyper Attacks, which are the inverse of the charge-ended combos (i.e. ) and see the warrior performing it dash forwards with each press of the button, and thus do not have default C1 attacks. In addition to basic and charge attacks, the player's character also has a Musou Gauge, which fills as the player defeats enemies, and the player can perform a strong Musou Attack by pressing the button. Finally, there also exists a Hyper Gauge, which, like the Musou Gauge, also fills when the player defeats enemies, albeit at a slower rate. Once the Hyper Gauge is filled completely, the player can hold both the and buttons to enter Hyper Mode, drastically increasing their damage output, attack speed, and general movement speed. While a character is in Hyper Mode, the player can also perform a Hyper Attack, which is the strongest move a warrior has at their disposal, by pressing the button at any time before the Hyper Gauge empties completely. In terms of defensive actions, holding the button will cause a character to block attacks - this lessens the damage they take from the front, though their guard can be broken by dealing enough consecutive damage or a particularly-strong attack. As in the Warriors Orochi series, the player can take a team of three warriors into battle and switch between them seamlessly while in combat. Unlike in the aforementioned title however, in which only the character the player is controlling appears on the map, all three of the player's party members appear in battle at once, and the player can issue orders to them on the pause screen - such orders include telling them to travel to specific areas of a map, or focus on protecting a certain ally or attacking a certain enemy. Players can switch between their three party members with the or buttons. A character's Musou Gauge will only fill should the player be controlling them. Returning from Warriors Orochi 4 is the Sacred Treasures gameplay mechanic. In Warriors Orochi 4, all characters had a Sacred Treasure associated with them, which grants them a single basic, charge, and unique Magic Attack that can be performed by holding down and pressing any of the , , or buttons respectively. In the aforementioned title, these Sacred Treasures granted the playable warriors the powers of gods or deities from a variety of different cultures' mythologies, and all characters who shared a Sacred Weapon also shared the same basic and charge Magic Attacks, with only the unique Magic Attack being, as its name states, unique to each warrior. In Warriors Ultimate this gameplay mechanic acts almost identically, though has been renamed to Traverse Armament as these "magical" weapons instead take the form of items from the series represented in the game. The use of Traverse Armaments is tied to the character's Musou Gauge, with basic Magic Attacks using up a minimal amount, Charge Attacks using up roughly a quarter of the Musou Gauge, and unique Magic Attacks utilizing one-half of the bar. Just as with the Musou Attacks, defeating enemies with Magic Attacks does not fill up the Musou Gauge. By holding the button and pressing , the player can summon a steed to ride around the battlefield, with this act not draining the Musou Gauge. At the beginning of every battle the player chooses two characters to fight as, which they can switch between at any time. While commands can be given to the character not being used via the pause screen (such as attacking or protecting specific units), by default they will follow the player around and work alongside them to complete objectives. All characters can form Bonds by completing missions together, with characters receiving bonuses when near each other should their Bonds be high enough. Following the default "Level 0", there are three levels of Bonds with each level granting an effect that stacks on the previous ones: * Level 1: Slightly increases attack speed when close enough. * Level 2: Increases the rate at which the player's Musou Gauge fills. * Level 3: Increases attack speed a greater amount and slightly decreases the amount of damage taken from attacks. The player can collect Power Prisms by defeating enemies or completing side missions that can power-up a character in certain ways with Skills and increase their basic attack power, acting as a replacement to the weapon tiers present in most other Warriors titles. Some Power Prisms can also imbue characters with special bonuses, such as adding elemental damage to attacks that would otherwise not have them or increasing the rate at which the character's Musou Gauge fills. While only a limited number of Power Prisms can be carried per character, the player is able to merge Power Prisms to combine their bonuses should empty ability slots be present. Power Prisms come in three basic varieties - Bronze, Silver, and Gold Tiers - which, in conjunction with their level, generally determines the attack strength for a character. Story With no fanfare, Reiji Arisu and Xiaomu find themselves in Kawanakajima. As a group of monsters begin attacking them, the two begin to do their duty and begin an investigation, meeting Yukimura Sanada, Kunoichi, and Nobuyuki Sanada in the process, who are also fighting against the monsters. As they cut through the monsters attacking them, the group comes to discover Ghirahim and Lu Bu leading the opposing army. While Ghirahim flees from the scene, Lu Bu charges in as he sets out to challenge powerful warriors from other universes. Though they manage to take out the general's lover Diaochan and do some damage to the Han Dynasty general, once he sees their strength to be formidable he manages to take the group out with one attack. Knowing they'd not be able to take out someone of Lu Bu's strength, the group suddenly see themselves teleported out of Kawanakajima, appearing inside of a regal castle. Playable Characters Characters that appeared in previous Warriors titles use their movesets when applicable, and the games that these movesets are taken from are listed in each character description. Takamaru, while he did previously appear in the bonus Murasame Castle Mode of Samurai Warriors 3, is an exception to this and has had a brand new moveset created for his appearance in Warriors Ultimate. Kasumi too has a new moveset that combines parts of those used by her in Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate and Warriors All-Stars. Additionally some other characters have had adjustments to their movesets made to utilize the Hyper style of moveset used by the cast of Samurai Warriors 4. Just as in the Warriors Orochi series, all playable warriors are separated into one of three classes: Speed, Power, or Technique. These classes mean little in terms of the playable character's stats and play style, but do offer a small selection of differences: * characters enter their full-speed dash at a faster rate than other characters, can jump to cancel out of any action, and can perform a short dash after jumping. The rate that a Speed character's Musou Gauge fills is also increased slightly. * characters do not flinch from the attacks from basic enemies and are able to break an opposing Warrior's guard easier while their's are harder to break. In general, Power characters also deal more damage than characters of other classes. * characters can guard to cancel out of any action, and can perform a quick forwards dash attack upon knocking an enemy into the air. A Technique character's Traverse Armament drains a slightly smaller amount of their Musou Gauge when used. Every company has a total of 40 playable representatives. Including one original character and two guest characters (one from each of SNK and Marvelous), there are are total of 203 playable characters. Bandai Namco Characters Bandai Namco Characters: Alisa Bosconovitch · Alisa Ilinichina Amiella · Anna Williams · Aty · Azwel · BlackRose · Cervantes de León · Devil Jin · Hildegard von Krone · Ivy · Jin Kazama · Kazuya Mishima · Kissy · Kite · Klonoa · KOS-MOS · Lars Alexandersson · Lee Chaolan · Leroy Smith · Ling Xiaoyu · Mappy · Mia Karnstein · Momo Kanda · Nightmare · Nina Williams · Nokia Shiramine · Panda · Reiji Arisu · Reiko Nagase · Rick Taylor · Saya · Siegfried Schtauffen · Soma Schicksal · Sophitia Alexandra · Taira no Kagekiyo · T-elos · Velvet Crowe · Xiaomu · Yoshimitsu · Yuri Lowell More: Capcom · Koei Tecmo · Nintendo · Sega · Other The following Bandai Namco series are represented with playable characters: , , , , , , , , , , , , Tales, , , and . Capcom Characters Capcom Characters: Arthur · Black Tiger · Cammy White · Felicia · Hsien-Ko · Jill Valentine · Morrigan Aensland · Nemesis T-Type · Poison · Roll · Ryu · Ryūnosuke Naruhodō · Sherlock Holmes · Tron Bonne · Viewtiful Joe · Zero More: Bandai Namco · Koei Tecmo · Nintendo · Sega · Other The following Capcom series are represented with playable characters: Black Tiger, Dai Gyakuten Saiban, , , , Mega Man, , , , , and . Koei Tecmo Characters Koei Tecmo Characters: Achilles · Arnice · Ayane · Cao Pi · Diaochan · Dong Zhuo · Guan Yinping · Hajime Arima · Jean-Luc Cougar · Joan of Arc · Kasumi · Kunoichi · Lu Bu · Lu Lingqi · Lu Xun · Marie Rose · Mitsunari Ishida · Naotora Ii · NiCO · Nobunyaga Oda · Nobuyuki Sanada · Nyanmaru Mori · Nyotengu · Okatsu · Orochi · Orochi X · Ryu Hayabusa · Sanzang · Sima Zhao · Sophie Neuenmuller · Sterkenburg Cranach · Sun Shanxiang · Sun Wukong · Takatora Tōdō · Toyohisa Shimazu · Wang Yuanji · William Adams · Yoshitsugu Ōtani · Yukimura Sanada · Zhao Yun More: Bandai Namco · Capcom · Nintendo · Sega · Other The following Koei Tecmo series are represented with playable characters: Bladestorm, Dead or Alive, , , , , , Samurai Cats, , , , and . Nintendo Characters Nintendo Characters: Anna · Ashley · Azura · Cia · Corrin · Daisy · Dark Pit · Darunia · Elma · Fi · Fiora · Ganondorf · Ghirahim · Isa Jo · Kachi · King Dedede · King K. Rool · Krystal · Lana · Lianna · Link · Linkle · Lin Lee Koo · Lissa · Little Mac · Lucina · Marth · Midna · Peach · Pit · Robin · Rowan · Ruto · Samus Aran · Shulk · Takamaru · Tiki · Wario · Zant · Zelda More: Bandai Namco · Capcom · Koei Tecmo · Sega · Other The following Nintendo series are represented with playable characters: , , , Kirby, , , , , , , , Wario, and . Sega Characters Sega Characters: Amy Rose · Arle Nadja · Bayonetta · Excela Noa Aura · Goro Majima · Joker · Kazuma Kiryu · Mona · Panther · Sakura Amamiya · Skull More: Bandai Namco · Capcom · Koei Tecmo · Nintendo · Other The following Sega series are represented with playable characters: , Persona, , , Shining, , and Yakuza. Other Characters Other Characters: Asuka · Nakoruru · Kuzuryūshin More: Bandai Namco · Capcom · Koei Tecmo · Nintendo · Sega Traverse Armaments Boss Galaga · Camera Obscura · Cane of Flight · Dark Rider · Eternal Sword · Herb of Spiritual Life · Medusa Head · Opa-Opa · Pepper · Piranha Plant · Proto Buster · Puyo · Red Wing · Sacred Bow · Sir-Ice-A-Lot · Soul Edge Scenario Maps Aytolis City · Forgotten Nursery · Hilal Stronghold · Hyrule Field · Kamurocho · Kawanakajima · Luoyang · Pumpkin Hill · Ruswal Island · Shibuya · Willamette Parkview Mall · Zaphias Gallery ACL Warriors Ultimate logo.png|English logo ACL Ultimate Orochi.png|Kuzuryūshin Trivia * While Warriors Ultimate was originally conceived as a sequel to Warriors All-Stars, its many similarities to the Warriors Orochi series stem from another unused concept called Warriors Orochi NeXt. This was to be a Warriors Orochi title that included a variety of Nintendo titles alongside the casts of the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series. * Characters from SNK and Marvelous were chosen to be added into the game as guest characters due to Koei Tecmo previously collaborating with the companies: Dead or Alive characters Ayane, Marie Rose, and Honoka have made guest appearances in the Senran Kagura series, while Mai Shiranui and Kula Diamond from The King of Fighters series have been released as downloadable fighters for the Dead or Alive series. * William Adams, Fi, and Midna are the only characters in the game who do not speak Japanese. William speaks English, just as he did in Nioh and Warriors All-Stars; while the voices of Fi and Midna are incomprehensible sound clips based upon their voice clips from Hyrule Warriors, as well as their original appearances in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess respectively. Despite the language barrier, characters are capable of understanding each other with no difficulty. * Despite Ayane debuting in the Dead or Alive series (and appears using her design from Dead or Alive 6), the development team decided to have Ayane represent the Ninja Gaiden series as her moveset is based upon that used by her in Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge. Just as with Warriors All-Stars, Ayane was chosen to represent Ninja Gaiden as to not over-saturate the amount of Dead or Alive characters in the game. * As the Donkey Kong series of video games typically does not feature any spoken dialogue from the characters, this is the first video game since Donkey Kong 64, the only game in the series to do so, in which King K. Rool speaks an intelligible language. Jūrōta Kosugi, K. Rool's voice actor in Warriors Ultimate, has previously voiced the character in the Japanese dub of the Canadian/French Donkey Kong Country animated series. ** Coincidentally, Kosugi is also the voice actor for the Samurai Warriors character Nobunaga Oda and the Atelier character Sterkenburg Cranach, both of whom have made appearances in Warriors games previously. The latter also appears alongside King K. Rool in Warriors Ultimate. * Sophitia Alexandra is the only character not owned by Koei Tecmo who is classified as a "veteran" to the Warriors series and does not come from a series that has had a formal collaboration title with the Warriors franchise. This is because Sophitia appeared as a guest character in Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate.